PG13
•
29
Bring the tip of the screwdriver close to the high voltage terminal, you should
see a decent sized spark form at about 1/4” or more away from the terminal,
and then be able to stretch it to an inch or more! It is pretty amazing to see
that we can draw this significant arc to a piece of metal that is apparently not
connected to anything. In reality it is connected to something so I will draw you
a few simple diagrams to show you where this current flow is going.
0.1pF-40pF
through soles
of shoes
100-300pF
into the air
0.1pF-20pF
through handle
C
u
rr
e
nt
Flow
C
u
rr
e
n
t
F
lo
w
In the case of drawing an arc through the screwdriver, the handle itself is
acting like a capacitor. The plates of the capacitor are your hand and the
metal screwdriver shaft. The dielectric is the plastic handle. This capacitor is in
effect very small, but is enough to carry enough current for you to draw a
decent spark. Look at the diagram above to see where the rest of the current
is going.
Summary of Contents for PG13
Page 24: ...PG13 24 PG13 SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM...
Page 42: ...PG13 42 Component Placement...